The Culture of Collecting

Category Archives: New Year’s Resolutions

Oh My Goodness, it is the last moment of the year when we can squeeze in those final drops of thoughts and words all about our dearest selves in the 2,015th Year of Our Lord. Let us not dwell on lessons learned (or nearly), let us think about us, and what we can put off until tomorrow!

Welcome back to our annual tradition and a Bonne Année Mes Amis from us all.

Auditory beauty, let it be nurtured and lived this forthcoming year.

No person of decency, still less delicacy, will be guilty of a double entendre. A well-bred person always refuses to understand a phrase of doubtful meaning. If the phrase may be interpreted decently, and with such interpretation would provoke a smile, then smile to just the degree called for by such interpretation, and no more. – ‘Decorum: A Treatise on Etiquette and Dress’, 1880 (and Miss April’s Bible).

Double entendre – deliver them often, wittily and well. Laugh with a cheeky chuckle or a riotous raucousness, depending on how much champagne has been quaffed.

Style over fashion, always.

If it is within your power, ban all shorts.

The wearing of flat lace-ups on a lady is not to be celebrated. Be mindful of commenting upon them as no doubt the wearer is obliged to don them due to catastrophic injury.

Listen.

Vulnerability is not a dirty word, in fact, it could save your life, but it requires a fearless kind of determination and a lot of practice.

Your behaviour does not lie.

Wear more turbans. Now add jewels. Do not forget the drapery.

To love is to love Nature for we are but a small part of her and need her desperately. Best wishes to you and your loved ones. Stay tuned for 2016!

Dearest Revellers, here we find ourselves again bidding farewell to one year and ringing in the new! Thank you for your warm visits and we hope you enjoy our authors’ annual compilation of deepest profound resolutions.

1. Abide by Miss April’s advice, at times mordacious but stubbornly right on the button.
2. Revive the art of and re-popularise the billet-doux.
3. Never, ever compromise one’s true worth for the sake of lust nor money.
4. Refuse to consume anything proclaimed to be ‘Fat-Free’; insist on your right to full-cream, full-fat wholesome deliciousness.
5. Know Thyself (or at least for your sake and others do your damnedest to try).
6. Science.
7. There is a time and a place for procrastination, and that time is not now.
8. One’s Winter gloves must not succumb to the pedestrian. Style, Style, Style!
9. Pursue a most beautiful and sincere vocabulary in order to touch the hearts of others, influence those to treasure nature and life, and to share unselfish truths.
10. Always remember that Love takes time where Infatuation rushes in, much like Fools.

Amongst the bonhomie and bubbles, the memories and loss, always remember – be kind to find happiness! Happy New Year!

Thank you for another year of visiting us and glancing upon our humble words. In suitable tradition our annual list appears courtesy of the MOLAM contributors. Let us know if any are added to yours!

1. Gesamtkunstwerk.
2. Dedicate more time to personal grooming, adhering to the ‘not a hair out of place’ rule.
3. Do not rush; ladies never rush.
4. Become more vocally less tolerant of intolerance.
5. Carry a folding hand fan within one’s purse at all times during the warmer months.
6. Commit to said hand fan for personal cooling incorporating a dancer’s-like grace to the flick, open and flutter as a public performance.
7. Louis Vuitton products post-1936 will no longer burn one’s eyes; they are deemed invisible from this day henceforth.
8. Balance one’s library realistically between the aspirational book acquisition proudly displayed and the well-read secret pleasures that win no favours at dinner parties but genuinely satisfy one’s heart and mind.
9. Lovingly finish the beautiful hand-knitted scarf dedicated to the vulnerable neck of one’s new born baby; for God’s sake they’re 7 years old now.
10. Cucumber sandwiches.

We wish you a most satisfying 2014 whereby your desires for a safe and prosperous future for yourselves and loved ones articulates itself into valiant and meaningful action for the future of all. Bottoms Up!